Modern Nails

I’ve been coming here for 6 yrs. The staff is warm, friendly and definitely knows how to do nails. I always leave satisfied and happy!

Kathy is the ABSOLUTE BEST! The best that ever did it! I have been going to her for almost a decade. There was a time when I was in Philadelphia for a bit and there was no one on her level so I didn’t get my nails done at all for an entire year! She is very neat and meticulous in the care she takes for your nails. I definitely recommend making an appointment with her (as a walk in is almost impossible!). I will be going to her until one of us leaves down again!

My review is actually specifically for Holly. I’ve been coming here for years and I think most of the technicians are capable. Overall I would give the place 3 stars, due to the high prices. But, Holly makes up for that. Of all of the technicians, she does the best with shaping my nails and keeps my brows well shaped. I AM VERY PICKY but when I see Holly I have no complaints!

I came to Modern Nails because I had a wedding the next day and just wanted a regular mani. It was by far the worst I ever had and for $ 19!
It was not crowded so I got a technical right away to take care of me, on a Thursday afternoon.
She didn’t use any oil or anything on my cuticles. Just cut on them directly after a 10 second water bath. Obviously she hurt me a bit and I bled on 3 different fingers.
After that she gave me a quick massage (quick being a key word!) with lotion and asked me to go wash my hands after that??! Am I the only one finding this weird? Like why would you wash off a moisturizing lotion after applying it??!
Anyway the nail polish was well applied (that’s why I put two stars) but it chipped after 5 days.
Totally bill $ 19! Way over priced for the service.
Hopefully I’ll never have to come back here!

I was a bridesmaid for a wedding the next day, so I figured I could find any ol place inside the mall to get my nails done. I’d say this really was any ol place, since I didn’t see anything particularly unique about it. It’s a teeny bit crowded if several people are there for pedicures, since the chairs are right next to the manicure tables, but there weren’t many people when I arrived early afternoon.
My nail technician was very nice, made easy small talk. I suck at small talk, so I can imagine I’m a difficult customer to converse with.
I thought the price was a tad high, but it was for a special occasion at a place that didn’t require a reservation, so it was fine. Cash tip only though, so get that in advance or you’ll have to pay the ATM fees for the ATM machines inside the mall.

I have been going there for two years and I wouldn’t trade the service for any where else. David is the best! I love his service and how he truly takes a good care of me as a regular!

I keep going back here for 3+ years only because of the convenience but that’s about it. I can get my car detailed in the parking garage, grab some lunch at the food court, shop a little and get a mani pedi all in one place in like 2.5−3 hrs. Other than that, many of the nail techs have a bad attitude, very unfriendly, disgruntled, hostile, and/​or rude. Some even talk as if it was a therapy session and unload all their personal issues. To be fair, I have had some pleasant nail techs too but only a couple. Additionally, the prices are ridiculously overpriced, they barely massage your feet, maybe 20 secs and no hand massage. I feel cheated at these prices. At any other place, the massage is considered standard and I look forward to it the most. One time they forgot I was waiting and 30 mins passed with everyone else being seated before me even walk-​ins after me. I complained to the owner who instantly sat me but it was embarrassing as everyone looked at me like I was getting unruly. When in reality, customers are looked because it’s silent in there and people are bored and the nail techs are just unhappy haters. Please, anyone would be frustrated and most would have just left and never returned. No apology, nothing. This last time, I was hesitant to go there again as I feel ripped off and miserable when I leave. This was no exception, same olé bs. I really need to find a new nail salon. I just don’t enjoy my experiences here. It’s like a toxic relationship that keeps sucking me back in. I’m over it! Time to get back in the dating game and speed Unilocal (date) some nail salon prospects with stellar reviews.

3^rd floor shop, pretentious attitudes for what again? Oh because you’re in Pentagon City? The quality of work provided at this highly overpriced nail «salon» does not even compare to some of the subpar nail shops I’ve been too. Pedicures are basically a foot rinse with a polish change and their nail techs seem so unhappy, which shows in their work, no pride or creativity shown. If you want an overpriced basic nail or toe color change, enjoy. If you want a good mani/​pedi seek elsewhere (T0P Co@t Nails).
There may be one hidden gem of a tech here who’s creativity is being smothered by the lack of good mgmt.
Their saving grace are the first time travelers who don’t want to venture outside of the mall.

Apparently this place has at least two locations within the same mall and there’s a spa operating under the same name. Well I visited the location on the second floor, I believe, for a manicure on New Year’s Eve.
The manicure itself was decent but I felt it was overpriced. I know it’s Virginia/​DC but $ 20 for a basic manicure is a bit steep. Or maybe I’m just cheap. Either way my nails chipped within a week, so that does not warrant a $ 20 price tag for me. Not to mention, the nail technician cut my cuticles really bad to the point where I was bleeding and it left a mark.

I’ve been coming to the third floor modern nails near Macy’s for years. I see Megan and she is great! What keeps me coming back is not only the level of service I receive but every time I’ve gone anywhere else including while away and on vacation, no salon compares. The work is impeccable compared to what’s out there.

If you want to be gossiped about, ripped off, get an infection, kept waiting, let’s say you just want to have a miserable experience, then this is the place to go to!
I have been going to this place for about 7 years now. A total of about 6 times. Not because I was an emotional masochist, but because each time I desperately needed my nails done right then.
Well, the key word here being ’ desperate’, you get the point. The manager is horrible. Highly self-​important for no reasons that I could ever figure out. A professional gossiper just like the rest of the stuff. Their redeeming quality is that they gossip bilingually. You take your pick: Vietnamese or very poor English.
They are overall so pathetic, I kind of feel bad even writing this anemic review.
If you really need/​want to go there, PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK PRICES BEFORE YOU GET STARTED. They do cheat you. It happened to me and to several others when I was there.

Was just here seconds ago. Ok I was trying to go top notch and get an EXPENSIVE treat for myself! I might as well had gotten my pedicure at fantasy nails (where they massage your feet and legs)! Here I payed 33.00 really just for water and toe nail polish! I could have gotten my niece before she leaves to polish my toes after I soaked them! Never again!

This is a review of the THIRD floor location (which I only patronized because the second floor salon was insanely busy one night…)
Came here for a pedicure.
Never. Again. Although my nail tech was nice and attentive (and even managed to talk me into a $ 10 salt scrub that really did help exfoliate my legs and feet), I’ll never be back here. I realized (after my pedi was over of course) that they do not sanitize the foot basins in between customers. Not even a perfunctory spray of water or anything. Just person after person. Foot after foot. Infection after infection, if you ask me.
Like I said. Never. Again!
Oh – and another thing. I saw one of the stylists grab toe separators for another client. But instead of going to get brand new ones – I KID YOU NOT! – she reached into the basket (near the foot drying lamps) where customers discard their used separators and re-​used a pair of those. That is disgustingly lazy and there is simply no excuse for it.
RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN FROM THIS THIRD FLOOR SHOP!

I’m really picky about how my nails look when I’m getting a manicure and the technicians at the third level Modern Nails are on point. I’ve gotten quite a few unsatisfactory manicures in my lifetime, but I almost always leave this salon happy with the quality of the service I received. That’s what keeps me coming back again and again. Highly recommended. Bring cash for your tip.

This review is for Amy, not the salon, but for Amy’s services. I’m echoing Melanie’s review that Amy is a perfectionist, and makes my Diamond Nails beautiful every time.
She’s kind, energetic, professional and makes my fake nails look very natural. She also recommended the very best Vietnamese restaurants I’ve ever been to (Rice Paper and Present), and she’s just always a pleasure to talk to.
Yes, the salon’s in a mall and the managers seem to push the ladies very hard to upsell customers. It’s also busy, and I can’t say that I’d get a pedicure here. But, I trust Amy implicitly with my nails, she does an amazing job, and I’ll keep coming back to her (and her only) for my natural-​looking thin acrylic Diamond Nails. And the awesome restaurant advice. Definitely make an appointment, and make it with Amy.
And ladies: do not get your stuff waxed in a mall. Just don’t. Go to a place (there are very few of them in the area, only 2 that I know of in DC) that does not *double dip waxing sticks* — each time the stick is dipped, it has to be thrown away every time it is used on you. Otherwise that stick is going into a lukewarm vat of whatever’s been on every other stick on every other person that’s been waxed at that place. Think about it. :/

I’ve been coming here on and off since they opened. I’ve had some great service here before, so why the bad review? My service today, quite frankly, sucked.
I came in for a manicure and pedicure. I had to tell the nail tech that I wanted my nails cut back more than once and she didn’t even try to file the edges on my toes and they are uneven. I could have done a better job at home. (Also she nicked my foot. Ow.) She spent the entire pedicure trying to upsell me on a shellac manicure — that’s $ 20 more. (You can get a good one for much cheaper elsewhere.) Once she had me out of the chair and realized I wasn’t going to get a shellac manicure, she started in on the waxing services, flat out telling me that my eyebrows were messy and needed to be shaped. (They aren’t and they don’t. Plus their wax makes me break out something fierce.) She left residual polish on my hands and made me feel like I was wasting her time since I wasn’t purchasing any upsells.
Despite getting good service in the past, I will not be coming back here. The services are priced higher than other places in the area because of the convenience factor. They have a good nail polish selection (when it’s put away in the racks), but I just bring my own polish most of the time anyway. If it were just the one tech, I’d probably give it a higher review, but this has happened the last few times I’ve been in. Not worth the convenience or the extra expense.

Okay, normally I would say that I have a good experience at Modern Nails. However, the last time I went I had a very disappointing experience and probably won’t be going back. I got immeadiately served but there was literally no color choices because they just leave them at the stations even when not being used so other people cant enjoy them. Also, my manicurist was pushy and rude. She kept trying to sell me things that I did not want and she left residual nail polish on my toes.
However, that wasn’t the worst part. I have gotten my eyebrows done there a few times and loved the results. this time I was left with wax on my face and I had to go home and scrub my face and pluck out hairs she had missed. Also, as I was trying to just leave, she almost forced me to sit to let my nails dry. Nope, just wanted out. Avoid this place and pay for a little better treatment. It will be worth it.

I went here this weekend for a mani/​pedi/​eyebrow waxing. This was my first mani/​pedi experience here and my 2^nd eyebrow waxing. I will not be doing eyebrow waxing again because this is the second time that the girl burned the skin next to my eyebrow with wax because she didn’t wait for it to cool.
The manicure/​pedicure was standard. I’m not a big fan of talking while getting a mani/​pedi so I didn’t mind that the technicians were chatting it up and ignoring me. I did, however, mind that the women working here were rude and seemed generally annoyed by my feet– which I admit are a little unpleasant from spending too much time in cleats & running. Really, I don’t know exactly what you’re saying but when you point and make a face… I get it. Thanks. With that being said, the pedicure was well done and completely disguises my bruised toes so attitudes aside I don’t have much to complain about. Nothing special about the manicure. Also very well done. I’ll probably come back for another manicure and pedicure because it’s very affordable — I have no idea how the first reviewer, L.A., spent $ 135 here. I paid $ 59.
So 3.5 stars for the pedicure/​manicure & 1 star for the waxing. I’d do 2.5 stars if possible but I can’t make myself round up.
Just a note: They accept credit cards here but they can’t add a tip so bring some cash with you.

Manis and pedis are pretty solid here, but I could really do without the judgmental nature of the technicians. It doesn’t matter who you get, they usually find a way to tell you your nails are too short or they don’t like the color you selected, etc. On my last trip I had one technician go ON and ON about how bad my previous pedicure was and how the previous technician put way too much polish on. She asked «Where did you get this done!!!» and to her surprise my answer was «Right here… Modern Nails.»
I would love to find a new place, but with two locations in the mall, it’s so convenient and you never need an appointment.

So I’m glad to be the first to review this salon… and I’ll TRY to be as fair as possible.
WITH that said… never again ONLY b/​c I paid a car note for a mani pedi and eyebrow wax. Maybe I’m used to prices in the South but $ 135.00 for those services was a bit MUCH especially considering it’s in a Mall for crying out loud. Yes my pedi looked great and my eyebrows too but they didn’t do anything THAT magnificent to warrant those prices.
The techs were having loud conversations and the receptionist was so occupied with her blackberry and new Mac lip glass that she didn’t even hear me tell her the services I wanted. (BOTH times I said it)
I’ll pass and take my chances with a nail shop in Wal Mart before I try that again.